


To Build a Home

by pandaholic



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Bonding, DameRey, F/M, Fluff, i just needed to get some fluff b/w these two off of my chest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 15:06:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5590813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandaholic/pseuds/pandaholic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She tells him that all she used to know were machines and desert.</p><p>“Oh but Rey, there’s so much more to the world than just those,” he responds.</p><p>Making her smile has quickly become his favorite pastime.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Build a Home

**Author's Note:**

> I am unadulterated damerey trash. Forgive any typos and please leave comments!

The days and missions he spends working as a pilot means he has seen the many atrocities of warfare, and has lost many allies, comrades, or friends.

The family he knew too briefly on Yavin 4 left him with memories of a dusty radio playing scratchy tunes while his mother taught him how to dance, or a warm embrace followed by the rumble of an engine growing fainter in the distance.  They’re reduced merely to memories that sometimes flashed through his mind before he slept, hardly doing justice to the family he desperately tried not to forget.

In Rey, he finds a kindred spirit.

Despite all she has seen in the galaxy, Rey still holds an air of wonderment at the things on the rebel base they take for granted. Her innocence is refreshing in the face of what she has experienced and it gives him hope.

Rey makes him feel like he’s new and shiny again. She treats his kindness and charm as a token to be cherished, because it’s something she lacked in abundance on Jakku.

When he sees her alone in the mess hall, seemingly having a deep conversation with the porridge in front of her, he picks up an extra plate filled to the brim with his favorite selections. He sets down the tray on the opposite side of her seat, inadvertently startling her, and pushes the plate towards her.

Rey’s slightly shocked, “You can’t expect me to eat all of this. This is enough food for a week!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you,” Poe says as he takes a berry and plops it in his mouth. He flashes her a warm smile, “I’m Poe. Here, try some blueberries, they’re amazing.”

“I’m Rey.” She regards the berries overall with skepticism, with special suspicion for the one she picks up.

“I know.” He chuckles a little at her reaction, “Just eat the blueberry, Rey.”

Poe lives for the look of pure delight on her face in the moment it passes her lips, and can’t help the grin that dares to break past the corners of his mouth. “Not bad, huh?”

Her laugh and smile are infectious. “I love it! What are these?” Her tone quiets slightly when she mentions, “I never really had this sort of thing on Jakku.”

“Why Rey, that’s why you’re here now,” he said before picking up a blueberry and tossing it in his mouth.

He takes it on as a personal job to acquaint Rey with all of the inventions of the modern world, but it’s a process.

It begins with various bits of food: chocolate is a massive success, she warms up to ice cream, and he discovers that Rey is most definitely a lightweight. She’s eager to try whatever he brings her, which speaks of the trust between the two.

BB8 has put her on relatively good terms with the kitchen droids, so she tries her hand at baking with Poe’s assistance. A war with whipped cream is awaiting them, which she has to admit is a tad wasteful, but the situation leaves her with sides aching from laughter.

The droids make an edible cake for them out of pity, and a general consensus is formed that they should stick to ships.

Making her smile has quickly become his favorite pastime.

He finds a way to sneak her off of the base and hour or two at a time, taking her to his favorite parts of the lush forest surrounding the base. It’s wonder beyond her imagination and she hates to end their brief sojourns off of the base. The light filtered through the canopy catches the contours of her face, and he can’t help but to stare.

A light drizzle begins, catching her off guard when the first drop hits her head. The downpour thickens, and Poe rushes to get them back to the base before they’re completely drenched, but not before she stands in the middle of a clearing and lets water pool in her cupped hands.

He wants to show her everything she ever wants to see.

They’re lounging on a couch while he toys with her hair and she tinkers with her latest project.

She tells him that all she used to know were machines and desert.

“Oh but Rey, there’s so much more to the world than just those,” he responds.

She likes that idea; it gives her hope for the fate that’s waiting for her. She also likes how he says her name.

When she leaves to find Luke Skywalker, he doesn’t know when he’ll see her again. He wishes her good luck on her journey and tries to mask his worry, an effort his face ultimately betrays.

She smiles at him, eyes twinkling with sincerity, trying to convey all the reassurance in the world to him in a single gesture. “I’ll be back before you know it, Poe.”

It’s easy to still see the concern in his eyes. “Don’t forget to regularly check the compressor. And make sure you make all the calculations before jumping into light speed. Also remember to manually –“

Her laughter catches him by surprise and cuts off his rambling. “I think I have everything covered.”

Just like that, he pulls her in for a goodbye hug which he hopes with all of his soul is not another last. She rests her chin on his shoulder, and allows herself the moment. He’s warm and smells fresh like the forest and ocean she’s seen and imagined; it’s comforting.

His lips are warm and soft against the skin of her cheek. “May the force be with you.”

She pulls away from his embrace, fighting her desire to linger there, as people are waiting to give her last-minute instructions. “And with you.”

In a flash, she’s travelling to a distant system. 

* * *

She returns in two weeks’ time with the fabled Skywalker. It is a Tuesday. It is the best Tuesday in his life.

Skywalker exits the ship and hush falls upon the crowd on the tarmac, because this is a man of myth, lore, and legend. He ignores the crowd and stalks past them to meet Leia, the two quickly becoming caught up in an intense conversation.

Rey emerges, and applause erupts from those waiting for her. He sees her and does a quick scan, seeing no visible injuries and only slight dishevelment. He rushed forward to greet her, and wraps her up in a hug that lifts her off of her feet.

The tinkling laugh that has been absent for too long reaches his ears. She wraps her arms around him and her voice is muffled against the fabric of his shirt as she says, “Nice to see you too, Poe.”

He affectionately kisses the top of her head. “Welcome home.”

It was strange that in a few weeks, the foreign planet had become more of a home to her than Jakku ever was, and the man greeting her had become more important to her than she could even imagine. Poe Dameron had helped her make this place a home as much as she had.

Home. She likes the sound of it.


End file.
